Garment exporters diversifying portfolio to regain lost ground

Indian textile exporters are now looking at diversifying their portfolio. Exporters are finding difficulty in exporting garments due to demand slow down in major destination markets like the euro zone and US. Now they are emphasising producing more on product categories like trousers, kids wear, pull over and jackets.

Currently, India meets only 1 per cent of global market for these categories. They plan to increase the share four-fold. Out of India’s total garments exports, these categories’ share is around 10-15 per cent and focusing on these items will also help arrest slowdown and gain some lost ground in international market.

New portfolio is expected to help them lure back the major export markets like US and the euro zone and help venturing in to newer markets, like China, which have shifted to producing more value-added items.

“Garments units are implementing plans for entering these categories in a big way and also offer blended fabric garments. Many of these units are also increasingly producing technical textiles to increase our exports,” said Dr A Sakthivel, Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC).

Earlier, Indian exporters kept to exporting only items like knit and woolen wear, which narrowed opportunities for exporters. Total Garments exports have been falling since last few months. In April last year, ready made garments exports stood at $1,096 million, which gradually fell to $899 million in November, according to the AEPC estimates.

“Indian exporters have not diversified their portfolio and have restricted themselves to a narrow range of products, this has caused textile exports to remain restricted to the US and euro zone. If exporters start to offer such varied products, textile exports will improve considerably, “said DK Nair, secretary-general of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (Citi).

Exporters are also targeting new destinations like China, Latin America, Norway, South Korea and Russia.

China, being a huge textile exporter in itself has now turned its focus on high value textile items, thus making space for Indian textile exporters to capture the Chinese market as well.

Also, India is now a preferred option for textile importers compared to China, as India's labour costs are lower which also is another reason that exports from Indian will increase under textiles.

Export promotion programs are being held to encourage 15,000 exporters to participate in 12th five year plan with over Rs 200 crore, to be spent on export promotion activities.